Training Log Archive: Kat

PORTUGAL DAY 4: Long distance event
Today was the day I'd been waiting for. Middles and sprints are fun, but the long distance is the one that suits me best. I was overjoyed when I woke up this morning and found that my left eye had healed enough to put in contacts.

This was the longest women's course I've ever run and it was quite physical. If I wasn't running on sand, then I was leaping over bushes or crashing through the green. At one point, I actually crawled on elbows and knees underneath some really dense vegetation. The course was technical and with 30 controls it sometimes felt like an extended middle distance, although it was certainly not as technically demanding as yesterday.

Some fast Swede caught up to me by #4 and I was slightly annoyed that I couldn't keep up with her for very long. (I later learned that she was the winner of yesterday's middle distance, and felt better.) Around #5, I caught up to two girls on my course - a Portuguese and another Swede. I ended up leading them around the rest of the course, until #28. I was clearly stronger than they were, but not by so much that I could blow them off. They gained time by following me around, but they were nice about it and I got to be in front and do my own navigation, so I didn't mind the arrangement too much.

The low point came at #28, where I made a stupid mistake. One of those 2+3=4 types. I thought I had crossed the last path and was searching in the right area, but in fact I had stopped a bit short. I would never have made such a mistake if I wasn't so tired, but it happened. And I lost 4 minutes confirming my position before I went to find the control.

Despite that error, I was very happy with my run. I managed to find almost all of the controls cleanly and ran at a good strong pace. It was a fun day and I look forward to doing more long distance!

C • Another Swede... 6

Warm-up running. I poured a cup of water on my head after this because I felt so hot! I'm not used to such nice weather.

PORTUGAL DAY 3: Middle Distance Race
The course was awesome, really technical and fun. The beginning went very well for me, but I had some trouble in the middle and then near #11 a branch hit me right in the eye. I stopped and put my contact back in, but it was no good. I managed to finish the course, but had blurriness and pain in that eye for the next five hours.

Warm-up running for the night sprint.

Night sprint on Praia da Tocha. By this time in the evening, I could just about keep my eyes open and see, so I put on my headlamp and ran the course wearing glasses. The sprint was not very technically difficult and there were people (including lots of children) running around everywhere. This was a fun way to end the evening.

PORTUGAL DAY 2: Training
OK Linne training on Facho. I was not impressed with this map, since it was not very technical and was covered in green blocks. This was meant to be a long training, but my feet started hurting (from wearing the Mudclaws), so I stopped earlier than planned.

Running to/from the map.

Warm-up for the sprint.

OK Linne afternoon training - a longish sprint in one of the nearby towns. I took it easy, but it was still very good technical training because there were no flags out and lots of small streets, so I had to keep concentrating to know where I was.

PORTUGAL DAY 1: Training
Afternoon training with OK Linne on a map called Lagoa Clementina. The terrain reminded me of Barbate, except there were patches of gorse everywhere, so it felt even more prickly. I felt quite tired after getting up in the middle of the night to travel, so took it easy and had fun. It was really cool to see the difference that a year has made in my navigation skills. During last winter's training camp in Spain, everything seemed new and confusing, but this time around the contours made sense and I felt very much in control.

Off to Portugal tomorrow!

C • have fun out there 2

To the track, lots of drills, jogging, and some very short sprints, then back home. Rained for a bit, but then the sun came back, which was nice. I wore the orthotics again today, and my legs and feet felt ok.

I haven't decided yet whether the orthotics are a good thing. On one hand, I can feel that they stabilize my ankles and support my arches, which is certainly good. On the other hand, wearing them may lead to shin splints and runner's knee (and blisters in rainy weather) because they are rigid. Then, there is also the fact that they make my shoes heavier and they raise my heels up. This is good in some sense because it means I don't have heel pain when I run, but on the downside my shoes feel clunky. Perhaps the biggest problem is that I can't tell whether they are good for the insides of my feet (probably posterior tibial tendonitis). This problem is supposedly due to too much ankle pronation, which the orthotics keep in check, but the orthotics press into this soft, inside part of my feet and that isn't completely comfortable. I guess I'll just keep experimenting with them and see what happens.

C • orthotics 5

Easy run in South Park and then to the gym. Quads felt somewhat sore from yesterday, but nothing too bad.

Run home from the gym.